A multifunction peripheral (MFP) is one type of image forming apparatus that has multiple functions such as a printer function, a copy function, a facsimile (FAX) function, and a scanner function. Some MFPs have insertion slots that conform to standards common to other peripheral devices, and removable media such as USB memories and memory cards can be mounted and connected as external storage devices to these MFPs. Removable media collectively represent portable memory media that can be freely connected or disconnected and that have semiconductor memories or magnetic discs as storage media, such as USB memories, various memory cards, or the like.
These image forming apparatuses can print or send, via facsimile, information stored on removable media connected to the insertion slots. Also, image data generated by performing a scan can be stored on removable media. These functions do not require other devices such as PCs. Therefore, removable media are highly convenient.
In general, when image data generated by performing a scan is to be stored on a removable medium, image data generated by performing a scan is transferred and stored while performing a scan. The size of image data generated by performing a scan is not known until scanning of one page is completed. Therefore, there may be no space available in the storage region of the removable medium at the time the image data is being stored after scanning is completed. That is, a memory full error may occur.
When a memory full error occurs in a removable medium, the user must restart a scan from the beginning after organizing files or bringing a new removable medium in order to increase the available space in the removable medium.
To overcome this problem, for example, the following apparatus is proposed. When a memory full error occurs in a removable medium, if data to be stored is held in the apparatus and a new removable medium is connected to the apparatus, the held data is saved in the connected removable medium (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-118333).
Accordingly, the user can store the image data on the newly mounted removable medium, without performing again a scan from the beginning.
As described above, a process of storing image data onto a removable medium may be interrupted and may not be completed, such as when a memory full error occurs in the removable medium. In such a case, part of image data stored on the removable medium is left in the removable medium. For example, when a memory full error occurs when the fourth page in a document including five pages is being stored, scanned image data for three pages and image data for part of the fourth page are left stored on the removable medium. In this case, the image data is stored in an incomplete format, such as that the property of an application that handles a file including the image data is unknown, or the name of the file is unknown. Thus, a computer cannot analyze the file, and hence, the user cannot easily check an image included in the file. That is, data that cannot be easily handled by the user is stored. In other words, data unnecessary for the user is left in the storage medium, unless the user becomes aware of the data and deletes the data.